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Frontier: Elite II

Frontier: Elite II is a space trading and combat simulator game written by David Braben and published by GameTek in 1993. It's the long-awaited sequel to Ian Bell and David Braben's earlier game Elite, part of the Elite series and available for Commodore Amiga, Atari ST and IBM PC computers.

Frontier retains the same principal component of Elite — namely completely open-ended gameplay — and adds to this realistic physics and an accurately modeled galaxy. There is no plot within Frontier, nor are there pre-scripted missions as there are in the sequel Frontier: First Encounters. Instead players explore space while trading legally or illegally, carrying out missions for the military, ferrying passengers from system to system, engaging in piracy or any combination of the above. As a consequence, Frontier cannot be completed or "won" - instead, players themselves decide what to aspire to and set out to achieve it.

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Planetary landing with domed cities

Players can seamlessly do atmospheric landings on planets with procedural cities. According to Guinness World Records, "Frontier: Elite II was the first game to feature procedurally generated star systems."[1]

The author Drew Wagar wrote an in-depth article about the history of Frontier: Elite II now archived at Canonn Research.

Stories of Life on The Frontier[]

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Eagle in Frontier: Elite II

This book is a collection eight short stories which came free with Frontier: Elite II in 1993. It's written by David Massey, Moira Sheehan and Kathy Dickinson. These stories are set in the Elite Universe. Although each one can be read as a standalone story, there is an overall story-arc between each. The sub-character from one story becomes the main character in the following. Perhaps for the final piece, Full Circle, you need to have read the previous seven.[2] It adheres to the Elite universe very closely and the writing is of a high standard. You can read it here.[3]

There are a number of elements introduced in Stories Of Life On The Frontier, with everything from dubious practices of slave trading operations, over Federal Pilot Academy, to Cold War like espionage between the Federation and Empire. However, the main idea is that of the adventures of Commanders; their explorations, battles, dangers and day-to-day life out in the Elite universe.[2]

Reception[]

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Frontier: Elite II Reviews

Frontier: Elite II is highly acclaimed. Here are some reviews:[4]

  • CU Amiga gave it 97% and described it as "the ultimate in space adventure, Frontier is the single most important step forward for games this decade."
  • PC Zone gave it a 95% "Unrivaled classic, nothing comes close."
  • Amiga Action rated it 93% "Frontier is probably the best game I have ever played. This offers everything you could want in a game of this type."
  • The One rated it 96% "Like Elite before it, Frontier is a game that rises above its feeble competitors like a colossus and will be talked about in awe for years to come. It's better than you could ever have dreamed it to be."
  • C & VG rated it 96% "One of, if not the, biggest games ever, Frontier is a title that will make the rest of your software collection obsolete."
  • Amiga Format rated it 90% "Frontier sucks you in and keeps you hostage. It's a monster."
  • PC Review gave it a 9/10 "The best space game ever."

Trivia[]

  • The 1993 Amiga CD32 port of Frontier: Elite II was the first game made by Frontier Developments as an official company.[5]

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